Skip to main content

Foreword: Exploring Interactions Between Sulfate and Nitrate Uptake at a Whole Plant Level

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Sulfur Metabolism in Plants

Part of the book series: Proceedings of the International Plant Sulfur Workshop ((PIPSW,volume 1))

Abstract

Nitrogen and sulfur are essential for crop growth and quality, because both are needed for amino acid and protein synthesis. The organic N/S ratio on a molar basis is usually about 20. Plants, therefore, must have mechanisms to coordinate sulfur and nitrogen uptake and assimilation so that appropriate proportions of sulfur containing and other amino acids are available for protein synthesis. Experiments with vegetable crop plants grown at non-limiting nutrient supply showed that the uptake rates of nitrate and sulfate by the root are related to the growth rate of the plant. Reduced nitrogen and sulfur compounds as glutamine, glutathione and O-acetyl-L-serine, and/or nitrate and sulfate, might act signal molecules in regulation of the uptake of nitrate and sulfate. However, there is no evidence for a direct linkage between the uptake of nitrate and sulfate.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Brunold C (1993) Regulatory interactions between sulfate and nitrate assimilation. In: De Kok LJ, Stulen I, Rennenberg H, Brunold C, Rauser WE (eds) Sulfur nutrition and assimilation in higher plants: regulatory, agricultural and environmental aspects. SPB Academic Publishing bv, The Hague, pp 61–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchner P, Stuiver CEE, Westerman S, Wirtz M, Hell R, Hawkesford MJ, De Kok LJ (2004) Regulation of sulfate uptake and expression of sulfate transporter genes in Brassica oleracea as affected by atmospheric H2S and pedospheric sulfate nutrition. Plant Physiol 136:3396–3408

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Castro A, Stulen I, Posthumus FS, De Kok LJ (2006) Changes in growth and nutrient uptake in Brassica oleracea L. exposed to atmospheric ammonia. Ann Bot 97:121–131

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clarkson DT (1986) Regulation of the absorption and release of nitrate by plant cells: a review of current ideas and methodology. In: Lambers H, Neeteson JJ, Stulen I (eds) Physiological, ecological and applied aspects of nitrogen metabolism in higher plants. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht, pp 3–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Clarkson DT, Diogo E, Amâncio S (1999) Uptake and assimilation of sulphate by sulphur deficient Zea mays cells: the role of O-acetyl-L-serine in the interaction between nitrogen and sulphur assimilatory pathways. Plant Physiol Biochem 37:283–290

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • De Kok LJ, Durenkamp M, Yang L, Stulen I (2007) Atmospheric sulfur. In: Hawkesford MJ, De Kok LJ (eds) Sulfur in plants – an ecological perspective. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 91–106

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • De Kok LJ, Yang L, Stuiver CEE, Stulen I (2009) Negative vs. positive functional plant responses to air pollution: a study establishing cause-effect relationships of SO2 and H2S. In: Legge AH (ed) Air quality and ecological impacts: relating sources to effects, 9th edn, Developments in environmental sciences. Elsevier B.V, Amsterdam/Boston/London, pp 121–134

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • De Kok LJ, Stulen I, Hawkesford MJ (2011) Sulfur nutrition in plants. In: Hawkesford MJ, Barraclough P (eds) Molecular and physiological basis of nutrient use efficiency in crops. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester/Ames, pp 295–309

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fonseca FG, Bowsher CG, Stulen I (1997) Impact of elevated CO2 on nitrate reductase transcription and activity in leaves and roots of Plantago major. Physiol Plant 100:940–948

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Giovanelli J (1990) Regulatory aspects of cysteine and methionine synthesis. In: Rennenberg H, Brunold C, De Kok LJ, Stulen I (eds) Sulfur nutrition and sulfur assimilation in higher plants; fundamental, environmental and agricultural aspects. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague, pp 33–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Haneklaus S, Bloem E, Schnug E, De Kok LJ, Stulen I (2007) Sulfur. In: Barker AV, Pilbeam DJ (eds) Handbook of plant nutrition. CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp 183–238

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawkesford MJ (2011) An overview of nutrient use efficiency and strategies for crop improvement. In: Hawkesford MJ, Barraclough P (eds) Molecular and physiological basis of nutrient use efficiency in crops. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester/Ames, pp 5–19

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkesford MJ, De Kok LJ (2006) Managing sulfur metabolism in plants. Plant Cell Environ 29:382–395

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt R (1982) Plant growth curves. The functional approach to plant growth analysis. E. Arnold Publ, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Koralewska A, Stuiver CEE, Posthumus FS, Kopriva S, Hawkesford MJ, De Kok LJ (2008) Regulation of sulfate uptake, expression of the sulfate transporters Sultr1;1 and Sultr1;2, and APS reductase in Chinese cabbage (Brassica pekinensis) as affected by atmospheric H2S nutrition and sulfate deprivation. Funct Plant Biol 35:318–327

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Koralewska A, Buchner P, Stuiver CEE, Posthumus FS, Kopriva S, Hawkesford MJ, De Kok LJ (2009) Expression and activity of sulfate transporters and APS reductase in curly kale in response to sulfate deprivation and re-supply. J Plant Physiol 166:168–179

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miller AJ, Chapman N (2011) Transporters involved in nitrogen uptake and movement. In: Hawkesford MJ, Barraclough P (eds) Molecular and physiological basis of nutrient use efficiency in crops. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester/Ames, pp 193–210

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Poorter H (1989) Plant growth analysis: towards a synthesis of the classical and the functional approach. Physiol Plant 75:237–244

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reuveny Z, Dougall DK, Trinity P (1980) Regulatory coupling of nitrate and sulfate assimilation pathways in cultured tobacco cells. Natl Acad Sci USA 77:6670–6672

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shahbaz M, Tseng MH, Stuiver CEE, Koralewska A, Posthumus FS, Venema JH, Parmar S, Schat H, Hawkesford MJ, De Kok LJ (2010) Copper exposure interferes with the regulation of the uptake, distribution and metabolism of sulfate in Chinese cabbage. J Plant Physiol 167:438–446

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stulen I, De Kok LJ (1993) Whole plant regulation of sulfur metabolism: a theoretical approach and comparison with current ideas on regulation of nitrogen metabolism. In: De Kok LJ, Stulen I, Rennenberg H, Brunold C, Rauser WE (eds) Sulfur nutrition and assimilation in higher plants: regulatory, agricultural and environmental aspects. SPB Academic Publishing bv, The Hague, pp 77–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Ter Steege MW (1996) Regulation of nitrate uptake in a whole plant perspective. Thesis, University of Groningen, The Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  • Ter Steege MW, Stulen I, Wiersema PK, Paans AJM, Vaalburg W, Kuiper PJC, Clarkson DT (1998) Growth requirement for N as a criterion to assess the effects of physical manipulation on nitrate uptake fluxes in spinach. Physiol Plant 103:181–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ter Steege MW, Stulen I, Wiersema PK, Posthumus F, Vaalburg W (1999) Efficiency of nitrate uptake in spinach: impact of external nitrate concentration and relative growth rate on nitrate influx and efflux. Plant Soil 208:125–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Touraine B (2004) Nitrate uptake by roots – transporters and root development. In: Amâncio S, Stulen I (eds) Nitrogen acquisition and assimilation in higher plants. Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, pp 1–34

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Touraine B, Clarkson DT, Muller B (1994) Regulation of nitrate uptake at the whole plant level. In: Roy J, Garnier E (eds) A whole plant perspective on carbon-nitrogen interactions. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague, pp 11–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Wellburn AR (1990) Why are atmospheric oxides of nitrogen usually phytotoxic and not alternative fertilizers. New Phytol 115:395–429

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Westerman S, De Kok LJ, Stulen I (2000) Interaction between metabolism of atmospheric H2S in the shoot and sulfate uptake by the roots of curly kale (Brassica oleracea L.). Physiol Plant 109:443–449

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Westerman S, Stulen I, Suter M, Brunold C, De Kok LJ (2001) Atmospheric H2S as sulfur source for Brassica oleracea: consequences for the activity of the enzymes of the assimilatory sulfate reduction pathway. Plant Physiol Biochem 39:425–432

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang L, Stulen I, De Kok LJ (2006) Impact of sulfate nutrition on the utilization of atmospheric SO2 as sulfur source for Chinese cabbage. J Plant Nutr Soil Sci 169:529–534

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao FJ, Tausz M, De Kok LJ (2008) Role of sulfur for plant production in agricultural and natural ecosystems. In: Hell R, Dahl C, Knaff DB, Leustek T (eds) Sulfur metabolism in phototropic organisms. Springer, New York, pp 425–443

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luit J. De Kok .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this paper

Cite this paper

Stulen, I., De Kok, L.J. (2012). Foreword: Exploring Interactions Between Sulfate and Nitrate Uptake at a Whole Plant Level. In: De Kok, L., et al. Sulfur Metabolism in Plants. Proceedings of the International Plant Sulfur Workshop, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4450-9_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics